1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a system for the monitoring, filtering, and approving of content from one or more content sources. In particular, the system provides a method for a parent or other custodian to set limits and parameters for a child to access content on a network.
2. Background of the Invention
The ability to access information via networks such as the Internet has become an accepted part of everyday life. The ability to interact with digital knowledge sources is of such fundamental importance that parents and schools have encouraged computer literacy in children of younger and younger age. Accordingly, young children have regular and ongoing access to computers and in a typical home or school, to information networks such as the Internet.
This increased computer and Internet use by children creates a challenge for parents, who may wish to monitor or filter the information to which a child has access. Moreover, a parent may determine that a child should spend more time using a personal computing device for one thing (such as doing homework) and less time using it for other things (such as playing games). Unfortunately, a modern personal computing device typically does not provide a parent with the controls that would allow the parent to define a policy relating to how a child may use the personal computing device.
There have been some attempts to provide a children safe computing and browsing environment. In some cases, filtering software is provided that enables a parent to block certain web sites from access without a password. In theory, when the parent is surfing the web, the parent can disable the feature or supply the required password when blocked content is desired. The system may also include an ability to search for certain words and phrases and block websites that contain those phrases. The child is prevented from defeating the system due to lack of knowledge of the password.
A disadvantage of such systems is the inability to intelligently filter material. The banned websites are typically over or under-inclusive. A child may have access to potentially harmful material or may be denied access to safe and appropriate material. It also places a burden on the parents to maintain the filters and to modify them appropriately. For example, if the child is attempting to access a website that is blocked, the child needs the parent's assistance to provide permission for browsing that website.
Another disadvantage of such systems is the need for parents to rely completely on a commercial provider to determine limits for their child. In many cases, the parent may have stricter or less strict limits on what their child should be able to access.
Another disadvantage of such systems is the limited ability to change options or adapt filters to be applied to the child's network use. A disadvantage of prior art systems is the need for the parent to make changes at the machine used by the child to access the network. Due to work schedules, the parent is not always able to update options in a timely manner.